A Study of Survivor's Progress In Bereavement Through Pre-Death Work

Author

Helen Kathleen Brophy McHale, Pittsburg State University

Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Keywords

Bereavement, Grief, Terminally ill--Family relationships, Loss (Psychology), Thesis (M. S.N.)--Pittsburg State University, 2001

Abstract

Bereavement, a journey traveled while grieving, can be full of growth and self-discovery or darkened with loneliness and pain. This is especially true in Western Society were the discussion of death and grief are often avoided. This descriptive cor relational research study was designed to determine whether hospice intervention assisted individuals who lost their spouses to a predictable death from a terminal illness, with progress in bereavement. Relationships between bereavement progress, support received prior to death, and other variables were examined for 16 participants.

An interactive theoretical approach was incorporated into the study framework. Carl Rogers and Joyce Travelbee's models of the interactive process were used. Effective communication is central to an interactive approach. Rogers (1961) and Travelbee (1966) emphasized the importance of personal interaction between individuals in therapeutic relationships. This investigator used the interactive process to interview participants. Half of the participants had hospice services and half did not. It had been an average of 12 weeks since participants lost their spouses. Some of participants' spouses died at home and some died in a hospital. The participants had various types of support prior to the death. These and other variable were gathered and measured.

Each participant answered questions from the Pre-Interview Questions form. They also measured their progress in bereavement using the 10-Mile Mourning Bridge.

Comments

ix, 152 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. Identified (but not used) running head: Su[r]vivor's progress in bereavement. Running Title: Progress in bereavement.

Recommended Citation

McHale, Helen Kathleen Brophy, "A Study of Survivor's Progress In Bereavement Through Pre-Death Work" (2001). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 187.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/187